In the name of anti-colonialism, Argentina's President Cristina Fernández de
Kirchner would treat the Falkland Islanders in a thoroughly colonial way

Rarely have so many fallacies been packed into 217 words. Yesterday’s open letter to David Cameron from Argentina’s quixotic leader proved, if nothing else, that President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has a problem with logic. In the modern world, territories with established populations cannot be bargained over by other powers. Yet Mrs Kirchner wants Britain to treat the 3,000 people of the Falkland Islands in exactly this shabby fashion. She believes that two big countries should decide the fate of this tranquil population, regardless of their right to self-determination. In the name of anti-colonialism, she would treat the islanders in a thoroughly colonial way. As for her demand that Britain negotiate over sovereignty, she has conveniently forgotten that London spent years talking to her predecessors about the Falklands. It was Argentina’s invasion that ended the talks – an event that she carefully omits to mention.

Argentina’s threadbare case for annexing the Falklands, irrespective of the wishes of its people, need not detain us. Of more interest is what Mrs Kirchner has not done. Her letter coincided with the 180th anniversary of Britain asserting its claim – a totemic date in Argentina’s calendar. Yet Mrs Kirchner still allows a flight to reach the Falklands via Argentine airspace. She maintains full diplomatic and trading relations with Britain (“the colonial power”). So her letter was at the lower end of the scale of possible actions. As such, it reflected the weakness of her position. Argentina is on the run from its creditors, while its government has strained its relations with the IMF by faking economic data. Its armed forces could not invade the islands even if Mrs Kirchner gave the order. In truth, she has little option but to limit her bombast to paper.